Shadow
by SaiyanPrince541
Summary: Bulma is a legendary Saiyan assassin and Vegeta is her next target. B/V, Vegeta-sei AU. Cover image, by annegoddamn, aka obiwanskenobi on tumblr.


_A/N: A long overdue gift-prize for my lovely friend, annegoddamn! I hope you enjoy it, truly! Be sure to check out her awesome art for this one-shot and her amazing stories, as well!_ :D

Shadow:

Over the course of the last few months, a legend had quickly come to rise, flooding across every inch of the desert planes of Planet Vegeta. The legend of "the shadow assassin", or more simply "Shadow". Scores of men and women had fallen victim to this obscure entity, almost all of them nobles and aristocrats, suspected to have been engaged in some form of corruption or other. Much of their wealth had also mysteriously vanished, before anyone could so much as bat an eye. At large, the peasant population hailed Shadow as their personal savior, sent by the gods to deliver divine justice upon those who used their wealth and nobility, to cheat and defraud, the weak and susceptible. Some believed this mystery figure, to have been the legendary Super Saiyan God, reborn. It was also said that none who saw his face, lived to tell about it.

That hardly mattered to Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans, who'd been yearning to cross paths with this supposed hero of the masses, from the very onset. While the King and the planet's ministry were concerned with the growing unrest, permeating amongst the populace, Vegeta's only interest was the possibility of encountering a foe that could potentially draw forth the true limits of his renowned power. Ever since he'd slain Frieza with his bare hands, no one had been able to hold up to that task.

And so, night after night, he sat in meditation, waiting for the opportune moment to take off and square up, against Shadow. Unfortunately for him, his arch-nemesis never stayed in one place, for more than a few seconds, methodically finishing each task and disappearing, in a flash. No other Saiyan, elite or otherwise, could ever work so efficiently and so he knew, without doubt, that this one wielded exceptional prowess. Just who was he? One night, a creaking noise suddenly caught the Prince's attention and his eyes shot up. He immediately bolted towards the throne room, whence it came. It was him! He could sense that eerie Ki signal that flickered on-and-off like a light-bulb. If Shadow had any plans of outrunning him this time, he was too late! He had a fix on the bastard and refused to let him escape! Vegeta couldn't help but chuckle, as he saw a slew of passed-out body guards, along the way. Yes, this would certainly be a fight, worth remembering!

"Wh-Who are you?!" The terrified King stammered, as a brown-cloaked figure pinned him to the wall, holding him firmly about the collar, his free hand aimed straight at the battered monarch's, petrified face, palm open and ready to deliver the culminating blast.

"I am your end." The assassin replied, voice horrifying and cryptically low. He was wearing some sort of white Hannya mask with black accents, to conceal his identity.

"Is that right?" Both parties turned in the smirking interloper's direction.

"Come here to save daddy, have we?" Shadow smirked behind the mask, instantly recognizing the newcomer, a much younger version of his father, except with ebony hair and no goatee.

"Tch, I could give a fuck about him." Replied the callous Prince. "You, on the other hand, are mine."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." He tossed the King away, like a rag doll. "I suggest you leave, old man."

King Vegeta could only seethe in silence, looking gravely at his supercilious son and heir.

"Don't you dare lose this fight, boy!" He growled, before gathering up whatever vestiges of pride he had and fleeing, in absolute shame.

"I'm guessing, I was your real target all along, else you wouldn't have let my father escape." Vegeta deduced.

"Hahaha How astute of you, little Prince." Shadow remarked, much to the Prince's chagrin. This pretentious fool would die, bloody and painful! No one patronized him and got away with it! "That aside, how about we take this fight elsewhere? Wouldn't want to ruin your precious palace, now would we?"

"Like that matters to me." The Prince scoffed. "Nonetheless, we'll do it your way."

Mere minutes later, the two adversaries faced off in the epicentre of a barren desert, no sentient life-forms around, for several thousand miles.

"I can see you're a lot different to the other members of the ruling class." Shadow remarked, taking up a stance. "You're driven purely by your thirst for a good battle, as opposed to a shallow desire for wealth, power and conquest."

The laconic Prince remained silent, mentally acknowledging his opponent's words. The hunger for wealth, power and conquest had prompted him to crush his oppressor and yet, after the lingering taste of victory had withered away, emptiness took over. Meaningless slaughter and grandeur, no longer held a place in his stony heart and he couldn't understand why. His eyebrow twitched a little, at the dismal thought that no desirable outcome, could arise from this battle. In fact, as silly as the thought was, losing seemed even more welcoming, for if he truly did win, he would be without purpose once again, leaving him as hollow as he'd been in the aftermath of his greatest victory.

"Tch, what about you?" Vegeta sneered. "What drives you, exactly? Silly notions of egalitarianism, no doubt. Or perhaps mundane tales of justice and heroism?" He scowled. "Fool! I've travelled across the Universe, more times than I can count! If there's one thing I've learned, it's that when all is said and done, those with power will always use it to suppress the weak! Just because you eliminate some prissy noblemen and distribute their wealth to the plebeians on one single planet, that fact will never change!"

"And yet that only substantiates the fact that my drive will never die, unlike yours." Shadow's simple reply, hit Vegeta square in the chest. "Remember this well, Vegeta. The desire to protect others, can help bring out your true potential."

"Tch, don't preach that bullshit to me!" The Prince growled peevishly, fastening his hands and taking up his own stance. "I don't need your high-handed advice and as far as potential goes, I realized mine when I crushed Frieza!"

"That's where you're wrong." The assassin shook his head. "You've yet to know, even a scrap of the true power that lies inside you."

Vegeta looked at his foe, deeply startled. Was he really suggesting that there was a power that could potentially surpass his. No, he was insane! Nothing could ever come close to the legendary might of the Super Saiyan! He was just spouting rubbish to catch him off guard! Vegeta decided to cut straight to the chase and see for himself, if this presumptuous mask-man could really back up all his foolish blather. Grunting, he raised his hands in the air for a moment, before bringing them down and roaring aloud, his blaring bellow stretching for a hundred miles. Instantly, he was surrounded, by a flaming yellowish glow, so vivifying that it could rival a supernova. His hair shone gold and eyes, a piercing, deathly teal. Jagged rocks levitated around him, as the blazing, celestial aura, swelled further and further.

"Come on, little Prince." Shadow taunted. Triggered with unabated rage, Vegeta rushed forward and landed a right hand, straight to the centre of the face. The mystery figure was sent reeling back, but Vegeta didn't stop there, following through with a powerful attack combination that floored Shadow, his mask marred and perforated.

"Tch, that's all you've got?!" The Prince jeered. For all his talk, this pompous vigilante, sure went down easy. Maybe he'd gone too far and should've toyed with him a little. Then again, the immense power that came with his legendary transformation, went hand-in-hand with an equally unbridled thirst for blood.

"Not quite." The assassin replied, much to Vegeta's surprise. He stood back to his feet, taking a few deep breaths, as though he were perfectly okay. "Your power is quite impressive, but against the likes of me, I'm afraid it falls short. Significantly so."

"Im-Impossible." Vegeta stammered, instinctively backing up, a pace. "H-How?"

"Like I said, you've much to learn." Shadow shook his head. "Behold!" He placed a hand on his mask and slowly took it off. Large, azure eyes, with strikingly vivid depth revealed themselves, looking back at him, with a strong, sparkling sense of purpose and- surety. The mask fell further, till he saw his adversary's dainty nose and plump, blood-red lips, realizing quickly that the man before him was in fact, no man.

"Who are you?!" The Prince snarled, forcing himself to remain firm.

"That is of little consequence." The female warrior replied, her voice completely feminine and dare he say- alluring. She tossed aside her mask, before casting her cloak altogether, revealing the combat attire beneath: striated breastplate armor, white gloves, white boots and a scarlet pair of lycra briefs.

"A Saiyan?!" Vegeta mouthed in disbelief, upon seeing the shaggy tail, girded around her slender waistline. But how could that be?! What of her coloring?! All Saiyans had dark hair, thick and unkempt. Hers was blue, thin and had a pleasantly smooth, silky, graceful look about it, falling mid-chest. Did the lilting cadenza of her voice and that petite, mouthwatering frame, portend something far more dangerous than he'd anticipated?! Could she possibly boast a power level, greater than his own?! No, it couldn't be- that was impossible. Before he could mentally delve any further into such absurdity, Shadow was on him. In vain, he tried to put up a defense against her unstoppable foray, but quickly found that his adversary was endowed with skill that was well beyond comprehension. An outside, right crescent kick whipped his face across and he was ingloriously hurled to the ground for the first time ever, since his fight with Frieza.

Fuming with blind rage at the unforgivable humiliation, he tried getting up, only to be forced down, an immovable force pressed up against his chest.

"You fucking bitch!" He cursed, vacillating between the shell-shock of Shadow's formidable power and the swelling fury within him, at the fact that he was being subdued by another Saiyan, a female one, no less. It was inconceivable!

"I can feel your heart racing, beneath my boot, Vegeta." The female Saiyan said, her voice solemn and yet, so befuddling. "As much as you despise your own weakness, I can sense something deeper within: something almost akin to- relief."

"You know nothing about me!" He spat back, fruitlessly squirming underneath this dominatrix deity. "Just get the fuck off me!"

"All those years since Frieza, you've been looking for something, anything that could fill the void, in your heart." She went on, matter-of-factly, as though he hadn't said a word. "And now, here I stand over you and once again, you find yourself being slowly overcome, by that same purpose that turned dream into reality. As much as you hate losing, anything is better than nothing."

"Who the fuck are you?!" Vegeta demanded yet again, even more irate at her astounding capacity to pick him apart mentally, never mind her physical indomitability.

"If you must know, my name is Bulma." She answered. "And I am exactly who you think I am."

Vegeta frowned at her a moment, before recalling all the wild rumors, percolating amongst the peasants.

"The- the Super Saiyan God?" He gasped.

"Goddess." She corrected and something about the way she said it, made Vegeta's heart beat even faster, if it were truly possible. It would explain, a lot. The color of her hair and eyes , the light, tantalizing tone of her porcelain skin and just the way she carried herself, with such elegance and finesse, unlike any other Saiyan. He was in awe of her. Bulma lifted up her boot and her beaten foe's chest rose up and down deep, breaths drawn. "And believe it or not, that same power flows within you, more power, in fact. Stronger than my own. It's buried deep inside, but I can help you unlock it."

"I don't need your help!" He fired back indignantly, sitting up and clutching his head, trying to shake the daze out of him. "Mark my words, Shadow, Bulma or whatever the fuck you call yourself. I will surpass you and you'll regret the day you spared me, the Saiyan Prince!"

Just as he was set to zoom off, he was floored once again, Bulma straddling his hips and pinning his arms over his head.

"Wh-What're you doing?!" The Prince stuttered, face smeared a crimson that was hidden only by the night sky. What in the world was she doing?! He felt so powerless beneath her and yet, for some odd reason, he found that strangely invigorating. She wasn't like any woman he knew. All his past dalliances had been one-sided, but this was a whole new experience. There was something eerily titillating about being subdued by this cosmically powerful Saiyaness. A galvanizing jolt of electricity burst through his system, as she drew closer, a hair's breadth from his lips, chests pressed together. Oh God, he could feel the soft, slow air of her steady breaths, merging with his own.

"Remember what I told you, Vegeta." She muttered softly and he could feel the arousal burgeoning, within the skin-tight lycra. Boy, was he glad no one was here to witness this shame. "True power comes from the desire to protect, the capacity to care. That's what you're missing. It's the only thing that can make you whole again."

"I I-" He sputtered, completely tongue-tied.

"You can be a true leader, powerful, wise and loved by all."

"I don't care about-"

Bulma cut him off, by locking her lips with his own. The desire within him tripled, his member steadily rising further yet, as she continued to tenderize his warm lips. What in heaven's name was this?! It felt so damn good, so enlivening. Life! That's what she was doing. Breathing life into a warrior that'd wallowed in secret, for much too long, yearning for someone who could prove his equal. With each passing moment, the Prince began to lose all sense of cogency and inadvertently began to kiss her back, bolts of lightning shooting down his spine, as his head travelled to the skies.

"Remember this also." The blue-haired assassin pulled back, whereby Vegeta growled, wanting to taste more of her; every bit of her, if possible. "If you can surpass me, within a year's time, I'm yours. If not, I will kill you, that's a promise."

The Prince's eyes widened at the ultimatum and instantly, Bulma vanished into thin air, while he was left gathering together his jumbled thoughts. What in seven hells just happened?! Even under Frieza's thumb, he'd always assumed full control of his faculties. With her, on the other hand, he was a stupefied mess. There was an odd sensation blooming within his heart that words couldn't possibly describe. He'd been easily defeated and worse yet, he could tell that his adversary had barely used a thimble of her unrivalled power. Despite all that, this didn't feel like a loss. Just as she'd said, he felt alive again, fueled with purpose, but this purpose was surrounded by a sense of obscurity. He wanted to surpass her power level, but was it because of a desire to keep his life or to lay claim upon her? And if he truly did realize such impossibility, what would he do? Part of him wanted to murder her in cold-blood for having the nerve to inflict such degradation upon the likes of him, yet the other sought to have her, to run his lips and tongue along that voluptuous body of hers, those dexterous arms and those creamy, powerful legs and all that was concealed within her battle attire. He yearned to drink in every sip of her, before looking her in the eye, as they reveled in the fiery, throes of deific passion, as gods among men. Holy heaven, this woman had completely undone him. One thing was certain! He needed to train harder than ever before! He would be the most powerful Saiyan alive! Then, he would decide whether he would rip her apart with his bare hands or to make her, his Queen. If anyone deserved that place, it was Bulma and no one else!

 _A/N: Well, this was my first Vegeta-sei fic and it was a one-shot, so please go a little easy on the reviews xD. Hope y'all enjoyed!_ :D


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